Rental Owners, Be Kind to Your Renters!
- Thread starter Mermaid
- Start date
-
Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
Re: Renters, Be Kind to Your Customers!
There is no reason to single out any particular agency for following a common practice. You wouldn't expect one particular retailer to start adding taxes to their price tags would you?
peapod1980 said:
There is no reason to single out any particular agency for following a common practice. You wouldn't expect one particular retailer to start adding taxes to their price tags would you?
Re: Renters, Be Kind to Your Customers!
And I also have the recent point of reference of dealing directly with an owner in December--an owner whose personal website clearly stated total rental costs; made it very easy to figure out how much my stay was going to cost with no guesswork or loose ends whatsoever.
Oh, and to answer your question--no, I wouldn't. But, I also go into every store with the knowledge of what the sales tax rate is!
Sorry if it came across as my singling a particular agency out--I did mention "someone" specifically in my original gripe, but I realize it's a common practice. Not my intent at all to point a finger at one agency in particular. I referred to a specific agency only because of whose brochure I had just been reading.kurt said:
And I also have the recent point of reference of dealing directly with an owner in December--an owner whose personal website clearly stated total rental costs; made it very easy to figure out how much my stay was going to cost with no guesswork or loose ends whatsoever.
Oh, and to answer your question--no, I wouldn't. But, I also go into every store with the knowledge of what the sales tax rate is!
Last edited:
Re: Renters, Be Kind to Your Customers!
See? Plural. ;-)peapod1980 said:
Mermaid said:I have been on the prowl for a place to stay this summer for our vacation when we bring the kids down to the beach with us. I've been looking at all the usual suspects including VRBO, greatrentals, etc. Most rental pages are straight-forward and I'm able to glean all the info I need. Others are lacking.
Renters, please:
1. List the Bed Sizes It's not enough to say "3 bedroom, sleeps 8." If I'm bringing down girls and boys, I don't want them sleeping together. I might need a twin bed or two. Tell me.
2. State Clearly Whether Tax Is Included in the Rate I had assumed it wasn't until I came across several listings that said rates were all-inclusive. Still other listings made no mention at all of the tax, which leaves me guessing as to what the tax rate is, let alone if I'm paying it or you are.
3. Mention the Cleaning I've noticed most rentors assume that cost but others tag it on as a separate fee for the vacationer to pay. Tell me how you handle this.
That's all for now, but if anyone else has suggestions, add on! It's hard work sifting through all the vacation possibilities in SoWal. I'd like it to be easier.
Mermaid great thread. Also, some very good suggestions from others. My self rental sites have incorporated most/all of what people have suggested. I use BRSW and self rent and on my self rental sites I put the description and rental info together from the potential guests perspective (not from my owners perspective). I approached writing my description, policies, payment info etc as if I was the one searching for the house. I have refined my self sites over the last 6 months to include all of the things described in this thread based on the most asked questions by the folks that have inquired about my house. Also, last spring we decided to take a quick trip to Hilton Head Island (yes believe it or not we went somewhere other than sowal) and although we used some hotel/credit card miles or points to "pay" for some of our stay in a hotel chain I did use VRBO and other sites to see if we could find a condo for the same $$. The experience of using and being on the other side of the coin on these sites helped me better understand how people search, inquire, and ultimately decide on a rental property via the web.
What I learned thru being on that side and also from just the past year of self renting feedback is that people search high and low, send out 4-5 inquiries or more, look at places based on price to make sure that they can afford and then size/# it sleeps. They are also looking to make sure all of the other info is on the site with no hidden costs and want and appreciate quick responses with straight/concise answers, no waffling on the answer, and no deception or unclear answers to their questions. Also, if someone does not know the area, I send them some additional information in my reply to their inquiry and I ask them if they know where it is. I try to include in my reply something that will catch their eye based on the age of the children (ie PS/2 in kids bunkroom or kayak rentals for the lake for the adventurous guests) or time of year that they are planning to come down.
So, thru continued feedback, help from this board, having a great Virtual Tour done by Kurt :clap_1:, talking to alot of people we have met or know that have places down there, looking at it from the guests perspective with alot of choices out there, giving all the details and costs proactively, and giving some good customer service, we have had some very good luck in our 1st season last year and we are already doing well for 2006!!!
Here comes the advertising.....take a look at our site at www.findvacationrentals.com/7475 and our Virtual Tour at www.emeraldcoasttours.com/20brownstreet/. Anyone with any suggestions/feedback or interested in renting our place, please PM or email me.
Wetwilly
Re: Renters, Be Kind to Your Customers!
kurt said:It's funny that you should be telling the nole about that.
Last edited: